Aging Parents and Noticing their Cognitive Decline

I am wondering if this topic is relevant to any Users here.

My Mother is 66 and her memory is having problems. (It is thought that she might have had a Brain Aneurysm burst a few years ago, which likely explains it. Noone in our family tree or siblings older than her have any Alzheimer's, etc.)

These Memory Problems (and false info they generate) are creating interpersonal conflicts.

I try to remember that she 'fills in the gaps' with incorrect information, when she forgets, but IN THE MOMENT -- it is hard for me REMEMBER her Deficits -- and to remain patient sometimes, or MORESO to remember not to correct her and challenge her story's Incorrect details.

(She does not have the awareness that she is Confabulating or 'making things up' in the areas she forgets. Overall, she seems to agree that her Memory is Poor, though.)

That's tough to deal with I bet....

Don't know if it helps but I stopped trusting my mom's "memory" years ago (she is now 68). The excuse I gave her is a couple of articles I read on how unreliable memory is in general. The cops are no longer allowed, according to what I read, to use evidence based on anyone's memories unless there is independent corroboration. Don't know if she bought the story or not.... :D

-g

Yup...noticing my dad's memory lapsing. Making it difficult to want to be in his company as it seems to scramble my brain trying to work out where he's coming from

My father in-law started having those memory/seems like dimentia issues 5 years ago. It turns out that he had diabetes. It was easy to tell when he wasn't taking his meds because he was a totally different person when his blood sugar levels were off.

I think 66 is pretty young to start losing your memory...if you don't have ADD anyway. :p

As a caregiver in the past and sometimes present, I have worked with many folks who are in the same company as your mother, and my mom is starting to slip a bit too. If you can remove yourself a little bit, emotionally, during those frustrating moments, and know that she is doing the best she can, I think the best way to handle the bulk of it, if it doesn't really matter in the end, is to just let those incorrect comments go with the wind, and that will allow her to keep her dignity, and you to keep your sanity. Does that make sense? Then, go home and scream into your clothes in your closet.

I've worked with a lot of Alzheimer's patients, and with some time, patience, and understanding, you may get used to it, and answering the same questions over and over and over, and over, again, just like they have never asked it before. Just like they never asked it or said it before.

A year after I moved away to Ohio from Texas, my mom broke her back..then a few months later she started having seizures for no reason. It got to the point, she was forgetting to pay her bills. Now this lady is amazing. Raised 4 ADD kids, all by herself. Put herself through nursing (LVN, then RN)school twice...while working full time..I think she lived off 2 hours of sleep all week sometimes.

After several years of them not knowing what was wrong..she was having spikes of unexplained high blood pressure..that was dangerously high...then finally last year they found out she had encephalitis...(water on the brain) she was born wiht it. But it never was an issue until she got older then it just stopped draining.
I had to go home last April after they put in a shunt to drain the fluid.

My sister and I had discussions about what we would do, she is a nurse so naturally she has medical POA, should my mother come out of the surgery a veggie...she would "pull the plug' knowing my mother had a DNR and would never ever want to live like that.
I had the POA for finances and we discussed many times how she would want things handled. I had to talk to her about what did we want if she didn't make it. What family heirlooms etc. It was the hardest conversation I ever had.
I realized then she is not going to be here forever, Hope.

She was different. She forgot things, repeated herself..would forget things in the middle of her sentence. It was soo frustraiting for her. Humor is something we all have in my famliy how we often cope and I remember saying to her...well mom (who has 4 kids wiht ADD, but doesn't have it herself) that's what it's like to have ADD..LOL...going from room to room wondering why you went there, what were you looking for? Forgetting to pay bills..what you were saying..etc. I said ironic isn't it.

When I got home in April last year..I looked at my mom...and I saw a "frailer" older woman...now 63 greying and somehow "fragile" looking. I have never ever used that word for my mom. She has always been the pillar of strengh ...now I saw...the reality and the future. Between all the years of working herself 1/2 to death, stress of us nutty kids, and the surgeries...she was tapped.

She is doing much better now, and has her "quality' of life back. But she is still forgetful. And I can see the "older" age kicking in.
She is moving here in the next 6 months. I have purchased 2 family home where she can be independant but close. All of her kids are scattered all over the states now, and I worry about her. Being alone. She griped for years, after having 2 kids in her 40's...kids everywhere...but she was fading away without them.

I can only begin to pay her back , one way and that is to surround her with her grandkids..and me of course...while she "fades" away. Absorbing every bit of time I can with her. Before she is gone. I believe, she will "fade" like my grandfather did before her, who had Alzheimers in the end, and he didn't even know us anymore. I almost hope it happens quickly for her, after we get some time to enjoy her. It's very hard to deal with watching your parents, with the picture in your head of a time ,when they were everything to us, our rock and seemed to be invincible and forever here.

I only hope to give back to her 1/4 of what she did for me as a kid, and adult. I owe her that much. And if she ends up like I started, in diapers and drooling. I don't care. I will do everything I can for her. You give them what they gave you. That's how you handle it. YOu give back. You let them have their diginity, let them be as independant as they can. And know when to step in when it's time to. You get help when you need it. You do them like they did you, when you were young and learning to do things but couldn't. You simply do it, and never ever regret it or expect a thanks.



That's how you deal with it. You never , ever forget what they did for you.
And you pay it back.


To me it's that simple.

I am justhope's older sister so I will second what she said and as one who is "maturing" myself I realize I am not immortal nor am I invincible. . . .none of us are.

We do not have to grow old to have cognitive problems, however I will spare you the book size possibilities my mind can generate in seconds.

I will make this easy

Treat your aging family members as you yourself wish to be treated. this may be especially important if your children are around because they will be taking notes. . . .It isn't easy taking care of one who is ill in your home {I have done this once already for a boy friend who died of cancer several years ago}. Despite the hard ships I know I can do this again.

It is important to keep a rational mind and know when to ask for help. It is important to get breaks for yourself from time to time. These two will allow you to maintain sanity and compassion. . . .

When we speak of "elders" one must remember that those of us who live long enough will one day find ourselves where they are now. Time does march on. . . .so do remember to treat them how you wish to be treated. . . .and accept them for where they are realizing if it was up to them they would have never grown old or become forgetful.

I find asking mom different questions each time I hear the same story to be a way of not only redirecting the conversation I have found it to be a way to remain interested in the conversation and in her as a person . . .most people loose short term memory while very often long term remains fairly well intact. I have learned a lot from the forgetful elderly even those with Alzheimer's because I can get then to tell me about things that are interesting and cool.


Yea the elderly can be repetitive but so can young people. I have been here over 2 years and have answered some of the same questions over and over again. . . a few so frequently I have my answers outlined and in templates. . . my dishes get repeatedly dirty as does my house and clothes . so repetitiveness is a part of life no matter where you happen to be living it. Besides like justhope said mom took care of me. . . . and I asked her tons of questions so paying her back is no big thing.

Also please do remember any sudden changes in memory are not a normal sign of age, "natural" memory lapses are normally very gradual. So any sudden changes in cognition could be a sign of a medication reaction or like a previous person has already mentioned a sign of a serious medical condition. Consulting a doctor about sudden {sudden being normally measured in six months} memory changes in any one no matter what the person's age is always a good idea.

I have noticed my mothers memory, long term, declining. I worry about it sometimes; but then I say to myself "it wont get any worse". I think it's natural.
I sometimes worry I'm insane, I have such a poor short term memory and I hope I don't become totally forgetful to short term and long term related things as I get older.

It's hard to watch, and sometimes hard to deal with.
My dad has started to do this a bit.
He's also got ADD, which is where I got mine from.
My wife and I took him out to eat a few weeks ago, at a place we had been to back in November.
While we were eating, he said "have you guys ever been here?"
I reminded him of our visit in November, and he said "oh yeah, I remember now."
I try to remind him of things of the past, so he keeps those memories fresh.
He has so much going, and so much on his mind at work.
He plans on working until his mid 70's, and then retiring.
I pray his mind stays sharp until that time, because he's had a great career.
I'm not going to say what he does, but he's the top in his field.
He even jokes about getting in the car with his wife, and hoping he returns home each time they go somewhere (he's afraid she's taking him to a home! LOL).
I get my humor from him too.
His wife got 2 dogs last summer, and that keeps him busy.
Having 2 13 pound blurs is a big hobby, considering both dogs are sisters, and when one gets into trouble, the other one is right there to do it too! LOL
It's hard to watch this though, because he's not on too many meds.
As for my mom, I don't see her much.
Her memory is pretty good actually.
But she hasn't spent 40+ years using her mind to excess each day.
She stayed at home and kinda raised my sister and I, and was the
"gossip" support line for years. I guess that takes a lot of mind power to remember who's doing what though. LOL

As for my mom, I don't see her much.
Her memory is pretty good actually.
But she hasn't spent 40+ years using her mind to excess each day.
She stayed at home and kinda raised my sister and I, and was the
"gossip" support line for years. I guess that takes a lot of mind power to remember who's doing what though. LOL


Minus any medical conditions many things you say about your parents is really very promising. . .don't take my word for it


ucla.edu (http://www.bri.ucla.edu/bri_weekly/news_050818.asp)

His long-running study of Catholic nuns, priests and brothers shows that the more formal education a person has, the more amyloid plaques — clumped protein fragments typical of Alzheimer's — it takes to produce a given level of memory impairment.

"This doesn't mean you should quit your job and go get a Ph.D.," he says. "Education probably relates to how you use your brain throughout life — your job and leisure activities that stretch the mind."

Additionally, the more plaques found at autopsy, the bigger the difference education made on the person's cognitive test scores.

Leisure pursuits also matter. Several studies have found that stimulating fare such as doing crossword puzzles, going to museums and reading helps stave off memory problems.

Just keeping busy seems to tune the brain, says neuropsychologist Yaakov Stern of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Stern followed 1,800 older adults for up to seven years. The more leisure pursuits they engaged in — even just visiting friends, playing cards or going to the movies — the lower their risk of developing Alzheimer's. From the start, he accounted for scores on memory tests, strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health limitations to make sure poor health or memory wasn't the cause.

***End Quote

When we are talking elderly long term vs. short term memory the restaurant you ate at once for months ago is files in short term, the day your parents met each other would Be considered long term. This is why I did not use to familiar term working memory because short term in the sense I am speaking of isn't exactly the same thing per say.

Speaking of memory I came here to ???? speaking of working memories. Oh yea get the hyperlink to this discussion. . . .

this is a big fear that is beginning to loom large in my life.

My grandmother, nearly 90, and who is (it is my guess) the person who passed ADD to my mum and her to me. I say guess as I can only guess, I am the first to be diagnosed and I haven't been able to share that diagnosis with my family yet.

Anyhow.. my gran has Vascular Dementia (spelling??) she cannot remember anything short term, her longer term memory has become little more than a fantasy-land. she has dreams that are so vivid that she has called the police to tell them that five strangers are sat on the end of her bed taunting her (one example of many)

My fear now, is that this is the future for my mum and me. My personal feeling is that I could lose pretty much anything before my mind. The idea of being a burden on my family and a lost soul terrifies me frankly.

Is there any causal link here? does anyone know of a co-morbidity between ADD and dementia? Am I a raised statistical chance of this? is there anything you can do to prevent it? (i.e. certain lifestyle, certain diet, etc)

Vascular Dementia (AKA multi-infarct dementia) is often related to the long-term damage caused by untreated High Blood Pressure.

I guess you know that High Blood Pressure is related to obesity, etc.

My Great Uncle died of this. (So I am expecting that this is what is happening to my Mom, perhaps.)

My Grandmother never had high blood pressure until past 85. She was always fit and healthy and exercised every day. She has never been over-weight let alone obese.

She has taken another turn for the worse too... she is now seeing imaginary people without any idea that they are not actually there.

Wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't having nightmares all the time... Can't think of much worse than having totally-believable 3-D nightmares. Especially when they continue when you are awake.

I am going to write a living will. If this ever happens to me, I want to be taken to beautiful tropical island, somewhere nice and peaceful, and cast off in a small boat never to return. There is absolutely no way in the world I will allow my mad-self to be inflicted on my children.

I have no issue with high blood pressure either - and am only a few kilos off my "fighting weight". So maybe that puts me at a lower risk rate.

I would be interested in any stats regarding comorbidity of ADD/ADHD and memory issues/Alzheimers in old age.

However since Adult ADD seems to be a fairly recent appearance on the medical map I suspect there's nothing and it will take a few years for any comorbidity to show.

FYI Grandfather and Great Aunt had Alzheimers and my dad is showing memory problems at the age of 72......all of them on the side of the family with Adult ADD+ personality traits. The other branches of the family tree are all eccenticity free ADD speaking.

I found it hard not to cry at my desk here at work reading some of the touching stories in this thread!

My family is full of ADHD and alzheimer's...so is my S.O.'s...so it's not hard to see where I got it from and it's not to hard to figure out what is going on with the elders in my family.

So far, my grandmother is still sharp as a tack mentally but her physical health is in rapid decline. My mom is going downhill a bit, but she is still good in the mental department. My dad is getting up there too, but still a smart-a** sob! ( I get my humour form him :) )

I hope that if it ever comes down to it I can care for my parents the way they cared for me.

I have always been a bit distant when it comes to family...although I love them very much, living on the other side of the country does not bother me at all...I recently (as in last week) found out my whole family pretty much (including my mother) has undiagnosed ADD or at least some strong tendencies to it. I was so afraid to tell my mother I had ADD and when she told me this I was so relived...she didn't question anything and jumped right in to the conversation about my family.

I need to mention that for many, many years although i love my mom, I didn't really "like" her as a person. It sounds pretty harsh when I write it out.... anyway, last time I talked to my mom it was like talking to a "real" person...not just "mom". My older sister is very rude to my mom and treats her like she is stupid. I admit, I did too when I was younger but I have been through some things in my life that my sister hasn't, and I like to think I am a bit more compassionate and aware of other people's feelings than my sister, or even more than I used to be myself. I'm just glad I got to this point in my life while my parents are still around.

Sorry it's a bit off topic...hehe...some of the posts here had good suggestions...mainly, try really hard to understand she is doing the best she can and let the little things go...i know...super hard for an ADDer...but int he end you will feel much better about a good relationship than if it was filled with argueing over forgotten memories.

Side note:


re: superman undies

Most hallucinations are auditory, so when you mention visual hallucinations, my ears perk up.

Seeing imaginary little people can be a dementia called "Lewy Body dementia".

(LBD is often missed... so this is why I am mentioning it! I'm not trying to be a smart-@$$.)


It is important to recognise b/c these folks can get *worse* on the Anti-Dopamine sedatives (anti-psychotics) often used to settle them down.

Sometimes these drugs can make them more rigid and restless and agitate(called 'Akathisia'), and then the Staff wants to give them MORE of this same sedative, so they get stiff as a board. *sigh*

(These drugs can cause them to get parkinsonism-like side effects of rigidity, etc.)

LBD seems to behave like a cross between Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

http://www.lewybodydementia.org/symptoms.php


----------

People can have several dementias going on at once, too. (e.g. My great uncle had Vascular Dementia and Parkinson's, etc.) It sort of gets confusing for the doctors to 'tease things out'.


N.B. re: seeing little people. Some folks with LBD actually find their 'little people' comforting and say they are friendly. perhaps telling her that they are 'friendly' could calm her down? :) (e.g. 'cognitive reframing')

Thanks so much for that info.. I'll pass it on to my Mum. Unfortunately I do worry that even armed with a suggestion for a re-evaluation the health service in the UK is so third world (especially for the elderly) that getting them to act is harder than drawing blood from a stone.

(That is unless you resign yourself to beating your head against a rock!)

I hear ya.

The Canadian Healthcare system is good for some things, and is pathetic for others.

Soft Tissue injuries (turn muscle, ligament, tendon, problems walking, etc) are a bad thing to get here. The only thing really covered is Surgery (joint replacement & setting bones).

Physiotherapy is only covered now for Seniors (65+) and kids (under 16).

We have so many people with chronic pain limping around or falling due to gait problems. *ack!*

Stupid healthcare. Who decides the priorities anyway? Obviously not people with disabilities or pain!

I am facing this question not immediately but in a few years. I am an immigrant and I have always taken care of my parents in many ways (bills, translations, etc). But, they have been such robust people.

I think Mead said it the best. We are the parents now in many ways. We need to control ourselves, and do the best that we can, and take breaks.

I hope that when the time comes, I can love and care for my parents as they have for me. They were never perfect, but they did the best for me that they knew, and I will do the same.

Thanks for this thread.

I hope that when the time comes, I can love and care for my parents as they have for me. They were never perfect, but they did the best for me that they knew, and I will do the same.Well said.

I noticed this question once, but not a reply.

Has anyone seen a study citing a relationship between ADD and Alzheimers?

I have a strong family history of Alzheimers. I am starting to see it in my mother at 74. However, I have noticed her being forgetful and other softer signs for years. Now I look back and suspect at least a component of ADD. Much of her softer signs are related to not listening and paying attention. She is far to stubborn to seek treatment for either of these, so I will never know if medication will help.

Anyway, if anyone knows of any info, please pass it on.

SW

What a cord this thread has struck with me. My mother is 69 and showing problems understanding and communicating.

I don't like having to be the parent and she the child. But she will be needing more care soon and at some point I will have to take the lead. I'm still raising my children so I guess I'm in the 'sandwich' generation.

Seeing her deteriorate makes me wonder if that will happen to me also. The thought that I won't have my mind really bothers me. I want to push it out of my thoughts and not deal with me.

Sometimes I feel bad because I see my mother needing nurturing and reassurance herself. She wants me to take an interest in her and talk to her. For so long we take our parents for granted so it is hard to slow down and think about her feelings.

With an aging parent and semi-young children I find myself wishing somebody would just hold me and reassure me that I'm doing a good job and life will be okay.

But, like most of you, I just say my prayers, pick myself up and trudge onward...

ADDers tend to have problems with auditory memory (remembering what was just said), so i can see how it would seem like Alzheimer's or other fronto-temporal dementias.

Here is an explanation of the latter, as they often look like Alzheimer's:

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/Facts_about_dementia/What_is_dementia/info_fronto.htm

==========

ADD and Alzheimer's share effects on the frontal lobe, and problems there affect planning, organizing, the executive functions, and stuff.

Both ADDers and Alzheimers folks (early stage) seem to "know they are forgetting" too, and it causes distress.

I'm sure these are just a few similarities.

-------

Lately my Mom has had some "word finding" problems and seems to be more impatient than ever in 'reading instructions'. The healthcare system seems to miss subtle brain decline problems until they are really really bad, which is unfortunate.


NB the frustrating thing about Alzheimer's is that it, and other dementias cannot be firmly diagnosed until AFTER death. (e.g. brain tissue exam)

re: 21

Dementias have an attentional decline component, yup. (So does Delirium. I"m more versed in Delirium ['acute confusional states'] than Dementia.)

In later stages of AD, short term memory is affected (incl attention-like features?).

IIRC, Executive Function becomes impaired too. (That includes working memory.)

The main working memory theorist is "Baddingley"? (spelling)

He writes about some components of "working memory being the "mental blackboard" (visual memory?) and the "phonological loop" (auditory memory?), etc.

ADDers tend to have problems with some of these. (e.g. "You're not listening" = poor auditory memory for what was "heard".)

I added to this Thread tonight because my mom's driving me nuts again.

I put some family photos (taken by many of us) on my Facebook. She is suggesting that I took them (e.g. prints?) from the family home.

(She doesn't really "get" how you can send picture files from one PC or Digital camera to a computer and put them on your HD or upload them or email them or use an SD card, etc.)

She thinks i actually took PRINTED photos from her place. *sigh* (This is something an extended family member did to us once before. About 20 years ago. He (my Uncle) was supposed to bring us our family photos from my stepdad's place, and secretly kept them himself! He actually put them in his OWN photo albums, and later, she saw them there, she says. The nerve, huh?)

This kind of stuff [suspicious talk) comes up every once in a while (her ADD and her LT memory problems don't help) and it really affectd MY rel'p with her at times.

She doesn't come out and say "you took this". But sort of suggests and hints at it. IN some ways, i wish she'd be more directly confrontational so i could defend myself more directly back.

I hate how she fills in the blank gaps she has with what she THINKS makes sense.

I suppose it emotionally hijacks old layers of emotions and memories for me of my crazy uncle, or other people, who falsely accused me of stealing stuff as a kid when I visited his place. (Stuff that my cousins did and blamed me for doing. I was younger and didn't have a Dad around to stick up for me. like the other kids did).

The layers, eh? :S

Queen's U, My mom is doing the same thing. My grandmother is the main recipient of this behavior (her mother). She is constantly accusing her of taking things and giving her things away to other people. Also she has gotten quite greedy and possessive of her things, and her house is getting really full of stuff. She only makes friends with older people who have no children in hopes that she will inherit their stuff when they die. Many of these behaviors are things that she has always been, only worse. Or maybe she's always been like this but the filters on her behavior have fallen away. I have a theory--there's not a personality change with alz, people just forget to hide their worst self, and it comes out. I'm willing to be proved wrong on that point though.

She is 72, and we've seen the memory loss and greedy behaviors for about 10 years now, but her memory has gotten much worse just in this last year. A comfort though--my mother is the opposite of AD/HD. She is nothing like me.

I read an interesting article the other day--it was on mercola.com, and it said that research is pointing increasingly to the possibility that alz could be a third type of diabetes. I didn't know this before, but your brain produces insulin as well as your pancreas, which feeds your brain cells. And then if your brain cells become insulin resistant, they won't get fed. It makes sense, esp because her diet has been crappy for years--she lives off hot pockets and corn flakes.

Your Mom should be evaluated. The docs would pick her out easily. Hoarding is a sign of mental illness.

Check out these links on HOARDING:

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:H5KCwNc7GB8J:www.onpha.on.ca/conference_training_meetings/annual_conference_trade_show/archives/doc/2005/309_7.pdf+hoarding+ONPHA&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=ca&client=firefox-a

http://www.childrenofhoarders.com/forum/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=534

re: AD/Diabetes link

It could be. Diabetes certainly destroys tissue (incl brain tissue). Lots of diabetics get vascular dementias.

I know diabetes have awful brain performance results for memory testing, etc.

I know I had my daughter worried (me too) a few years ago when I was in the midst of menopause and undergoing quite a bit of stress. I was struggling to remember all kinds of things, using the wrong word in a sentence while speaking, was online one day and became very upset and accused someone of something just unreal. I began taking a combination of Omega 3 oil and Evening Primrose oil and things improved a great deal. Would they have improved on their own without the supplements? Possibly. I only know that if I forget to take them for more than a couple of days in a row that I find myself struggling to remember and to think clearly again.

My dad is 84 this month and has experienced a huge decline in the past year with dementia being the diagnosis. No diabetes or high blood pressure in his medical history, but he had triple bypass heart surgery 14 years ago and has had to have a vein or artery in his neck "cleaned out" at least 3 times since then. Fortunately I don't live close enough to help with him or have to make any of the decisions on his health care. I have my hands full with my own family and my own issues.

Thanks for those links, Q. I figured from the first one that my mother is an aesthetic hoarder, which is a symptom of dementia. She has a lot of really nice things, there's just too many of them, and now she can't keep track of all of it, so she accuses my 91 yo grandmother of stealing them. She also equates stuff with love--if g-ma gives her things, she must love her more, and if she takes them away, she loves her less.

But here is my question for all of you--how do you get an unwilling patient to the doctor? My brother and I are in total agreement that she needs to get in to see someone, but we're not sure how to accomplish it. She will be more willing to go with him, but he's a pilot, and thus not around a whole lot, though he lives close to her and I'm 2 hours away.

re: 29

They call that a carotid endartectomy (scraping out the main neck artery).

That's serious surgery! As serious as a bypass. Yeesh. Don't underestimate its effects.
Arterial blockage is bloodflow blockage, no matter where it is occuring in the body/brain.

Carotid artery is your Brain's Main Blood Flow, IIRC. <!> Now imagine that it is about 50-90% blocked (and has been for years). He's gonna get 'brain' problems of some kind. :S Lowered blood flow to the brain or an organ affects that organ, even if the blood flow is later improved.

I know they are finding that there are Permanent Brain Changes in people who go for a time with untreated Sleep Apnea, too. (e.g. low oxygen to brain and heart and body).

Can't recall where i read it [laffs at self, given our topic!], but it's true.


Bypasses (CABG aka "coronary artery bypass graft") and artery cleanings, etc. can cause serious mental and mood problems.

Remember that they are stopping the heart, and lungs (interfering with their function), while bypasses etc are going on. People are put on a heart and lung machine/ventilator. Anesthetist is "breathing" for them. Scary thought, eh!

(The heart, lungs, and kidney systems all kind of work together as a unit when it coems to blood flow, oxygenation and waste (incl. carbon dioxide) removal in the body).

There are questions of anoxia {'oxygen starvation'] affecting the brain tissue, etc.

{A machine can only replace lung/heart/kidney function so well. Areas of brain damage caused by this lack of oxygen and metabolic toxin buildup can affect the emotional and mood and cognitive areas of the brain.)

IIRC, there have been a few studies on cognitive and mood and memory problems in people who've had heart and blood vessel surgeries.